Conveyer.



J. T. VULGAMOTT.

CONVEYEH.

APPLICATION FlLED MAR. 10, I915.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

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JAMES 'nvULeAMoTn or wooLsrocK, IOWA.

CONVEYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

Application filed March 10, 1915. Serial No. 13,522.

To all whom it may concern:

I Be it known that I, JAMES T. VULGAMOTT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at WVoolstock, in the county of Wright and State ofIowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Conveyers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to conveyers, the primary object being, to devisea mechanism for conveying seed, etc, from a source of supply to a hopperor other means, which -controls the flow of'the feed, to facilitateanism likewise controlling feeding of the material from the source ofsupply.

Other objects as well as the nature, characteristic features and scopeof my invention will be more readily understood from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and pointed out in theclaims forming a part of this specification.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view ofthe device constructed in accordance with my invention,

illustrating the application of the same in a wagon, the latter beinglikewise shown in longitudinal section, Fig. 2 is a top plan view of thesame, portions thereof being broken away to disclose details, Fig. 3 isa cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and looking inthe direction of the arrows, Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view ofthe front of the wagon box illustrating the manner in which the conveyersupport ing frame is mounted therein, Fig. 5 is a detail enlargedfragmentary side elevational view of the means for regulating thefeeding of materials to the conveyer, and for throwing the latter intoor out of engagement with the traction wheels, and Fig. 6 is a detailenlarged fragmentary section and fragmentary side elevational View,respecmembers, showing the manner in which the gear-wheel is associatedtherewith.

In the drawings wherein is illustrated the preferred embodiment of thisinvention, a wagon 1 is provided, which in the present instance is ofthe usual configuration, including an oblong box of the usual contour inwhich is mounted my improved conveyer mechanism generally designated 2.

The conveyer mechanism 2 embodies an endless run 3 preferably made ofcanvas and having mounted thereon at equidistant points, ribs 4 in orderto preclude possibility of displacement of the seed or grain when thelatter is being conveyed on the inclined portion of the conveyer, ashereinafter described. Strips 5 are superposed upon the terminals of theribs 4,, and extend longitudinally of the conveyer, so as to serve inthe dual'capacity of'preventing the accidental displacement of the ribs4, and likewise preventing lateral displacement of the grain from theconveyer." It will be noted that the lower end of the conveyer isarranged in parallelism with the bottom of the wagon body and has itsterminals trained about the periphery of a roller 6, the latter beingjournaled between parallel side members 7. The side members 7 are hingedto the bottom of the wagon box, [so as to be folded into engagement withthe latter, for occupying a minimum] amount of space when not in use.One of the. ends,

of each of the side members'7, is snugly engaged with the'front oftheflwagon box, while the opposite end of each is appreciably spacedfrom the end gate and is conjoined, through the instrumentality of links8, to parallelly arranged supporting bars 9, as illustrated to advantageinvFig. 5. 'The bars 9 are set' at an inclination in the wagon box andhave mounted between the outer or free ends thereof a'shaft 10 uponwhich is revolubly mounted a roller 11. Oneend' of the conveyer isarranged in parallelism with the members 9 and has its upper'end trainedabout the roller 11. Y

Mounted in the'wagon .box above that portion of the conveyer whichextends in parallelism with the bottom of the wagon box, is theperforate bottom 13, the perforations in the present instance exten dlngalong the longitudinal axis of the-bottomlit, a;

so as to emit the contents of said receptacle 12 onto the upper run ofthe conveyer. In- I clined sides 14 are associated with the bottom 13,-in order to facilitate the seed or other material which is retained inthe receptacle 12 to gravitate to thebottom 13.

Slidably mounted subjacent the bottom 13 is a slide 15, the latter beingmade of wood, metal or any other suitable material and provided with aseries of perforations 16, extending along the longitudinal axisthereof,"which are adapted to aline with the perforations 11 in thebottom 13 of the receptacle 12. Guides 17 are mounted upon the lowerface of the bottom 13 and are adapted to receive, the slide 15, so as toprevent accidentaldisplacement of the latter during movement. In orderto facilitate movement of theslide 15, an ear 17 is formed on one of thelateral margins of said slide and has its free end in engagement withone end of the link 18 through the medium of which the slide 15 isoperated, for alining the openings 16 thereof with the opening-1 f ofthe bottom 18, at the option ofthe operator.

A frame 17 is mounted in the rear end of the wagon box and in thepresent instance comprises a base portion which is secured to the bottomof the wagon box, the latter having a plurality of uprights extendingtherefrom, with the upper terminals of said upright in fixed engagementwith the upper horizontal bar of-said frame 17 The vertical uprights areretained from displacement by suitable brace rods, the latter being inengagement with'the base of. the frame 17', as shown to advantage inFig. 4:.

The free ends of the members 9 are secured in any suitable manner to theframe 17 whereby said members are retained in a desired inclinedposition in the wagon box, so as to dispose the outlet end of theconveyer at a point directly above the end gate 18 of the wagon box.

A gear wheel 19 is slidably mounted in an elongated opening 20 in one ofthe members 9, said gear wheel having a stub-shaft extending therefrom,upon which is formed, a pair of parallel annular flanges 21, one of saidannular flanges lying on one side of the slot 20 and the other one onthe other side of the slot. By this formation, it is seen that thegear-wheel 19 may be moved under pressure, at the same time being heldfrom lateral displacement by the annular flanges 21. A shaft 22, whichis an extension from the stub-shaft of the gear-wheel 19, hereinbeforereferred to, extends outwardly from the gear-wheel 19 on the oppositeside from said stub-shaft, and is in slidable connection with a collar23, the latter being formed on one end of an operating rod 24, theopposite end-of the latter being screw-threaded and having a nut'24adjustably mounted thereon, whereby the tenhaving a portion extendedfrom its inner face tovengage the teeth of said rack segment for holdingthe lever in a predetermined adjusted position. The lower end of thelever 27 has a pintle 29 extending therefrom, which is mounted formovement in an arcuate slot 30, the latter being formed in one of themembers 9, adjacent its jointure with a member 7, heretofore described.By mounting the pintle 29 in the slot 30, it is seen that movement ofthe lever 27 is limited to a predetermined are, thereby precludingpossibility of rendering the lever inoperative by moving the same beyonda certain phase of movement. The lever 27 is in connection with one endof the link 18, whereby when pressure is exerted upon said lever, itwill simultaneously operate the slide 15 and exert pressure upon the rod2%, so as to throw the gear-wheel 19, with which said rod is associated,into or out of engagement with a gear-wheel 31. The gear-wheel 31 ismounted upon one end of the shaft 10, so that by imparting movement tosaid gearwheel, motion will be transmitted to the shaft 10 for rotatingthe roller 11, thereby imparting movement to the conveyer 3.

A hopper 33 is mounted upon the end gate 18 subjacent the dispensing endof the conveyer, and is preferably of a conical configuration, taperingfrom its upper margin to its lower end, in order to dispense itscontents in a restricted flow for facilitating planting. The volume ofHow from the container 33 is regulated by the usual mechanism, so thatonly a predetermined quantity of material will be permitted to be deposited in the earth at each specific point. A sprocket-chain 3-1 istrained about a gearwheel on the mechanism, in order to operate thelatter, said chain being likewise trained about a gear-wheel upon theshaft 22, for rotating the latter upon the operation of thesprocketchain. A main drive chain 35 is associated with one of thetraction wheels of the vehicle and is trained about a sprocketwheel, inproximity to the sprocket-wheel about which the chain 3% is trained, soas to transmit motion by the traction of the vehicle through the drivchain 35, to the sprocket chain 34, subsequently imparting movement tothe shaft 10 for actuating the conveyer about the periphery of therollers 6 and 11.

In order to retain the upper and lower runs of the conveyer in apredetermined position at the jointure of the inclined and horizontalportions of the latter, suitable rollers 36 are provided, the upper ofwhich likewise tends to press the materials into the upper run of theconveyer for reducing possibility of displacement of the materials to aminimum. In operation therefore it is seen that the feed or othermaterial which is to be dispensed through the hopper 33, is first placedin the receptacle 12, and the lever 27 set at the proper position, so asto aline the openings 14: in the bottom of the receptacle, and theopenings 16 in the slide 15, at the same time engaging the gears 19 and31 in mesh. By the movement of the vehicle, therefore, motion ill beimparted to the conveyer in a manner heretofore described, so as toconvey the materials, which gravitate through the openings 14 and 16,into the conveyer 33, and from thence to the earth. It is, of course,appreciated that as soon as the vehicle stops, the movement of theconveyer is also curtailed, as well the mechanism, which is runincidental to the operation of the vehicle. It is furthermore to beunderstood that when so desired, the conveyer may be renderedinoperative, even while the vehicle is in motion, by suitably adjustingthe lever 27, this positioning of the latter likewise disalining theopenings 14, and 16, so as to close communication therethrough.

It will be understood that the above description and accompanyingdrawings comprehend only the general and preferred embodiment of myinvention and that various minor changes in details of construction,proportion and arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of theappended claims and without sacrificing any of the advantages of myinvention.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a vehicle body, of side members hinged to saidbody and normally supported in vertical position upon the bottom of saidbody, rollers supported by said side members, extension members for saidside members, a roller carried by said extension members, a conveyerbelt engaged around said rollers, a receptacle resting upon said vehiclebody and said side members, means carried by said vehicle for retainingsaid side members in vertical position, means for controlling the discharge of material from said receptacle to said conveyer belt, a hoppersupported beneath one end of said conveyer belt, and

means for operating said conveyer belt to Y deliver the material to saidhopper.

2. The combination with a vehicle body, of parallel side members hingedupon the bottom of said body, inclined extension members for said sidemembers, means for connecting said extension members with said sidemembers, an endless conveyer mounted between said side members andbetween said extension members, a hopper mounted upon one end of saidvehicle body and beneath the upper end of said conveyer, a receptaclemounted upon said side members and said vehicle body to deliver materialto said endless conveyer, a slide for controlling the amount of materialdelivered to said endless conveyer, means for operating the feedmechanism of said hopper from a wheel of the vehicle, a shaft adapted tobe operated upon operation of the feed mechanism of said hopper, a levermounted upon one of said extension members, and oppositely directedconnecting members leading from said lever to said slide and to one endof said endless conveyer to operate said slide and form connectionsbetween said endless conveyer and said shaft upon movement of said leverin one direction.

3. The combination with a vehicle body, of parallel side members hingedupon the bottom of said body and adapted at times to be foldeddownwardly upon the same, a receptacle having a flat bottom and inclinedsides, means carried by said inclined sides for engagement with theouter faces of said side members to support the latter in an uprightposition, the bottom of said receptacle being perforated, a perforatedguide member adapted to register with the perforations of saidreceptacle bottom, guide means for said slide member, eXtension membersfor said side members, an endless conveyer mounted between said sidemembers and said extension members,one

end of said endless conveyer being inclined, a hopper mounted upon theupper extremities of said inclined end, the feeding mecha- JAMES T.VULGAMOTT.

Geo. W. YOUNG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

